Notes: Wildcards to Kuzy, Petrova, Meghann Shaughnessy; Cibulkova withdrew with right rib injury; Wozniacki is the defending champ; Kuzy won in 2007; Lindsay Davenport was 1-5 in career New Haven finals, while Venus Williams won four in a row from 1999-2002; no U.S. stars this year (wildcard Shaughnessy is only U.S. player!).

It’s true. This tournament might as well be an exhibition. It’s not the most significant tournament. But it’s nice to have some televised tennis, no matter what tourny it is. When it comes to tennis, though, any 2 players can create an epic. So if you’re lucky to see any, I’m sure you won’ be yawning.

I guess in Miss Brady’s opinion all 250 & 500 level events should be cancelled & removed from the calendar – surprise, surprise – more negative, vile spewing. And picking the top seed as your “prediction” to win? Why are you wasting our time when you can get on your broom and fly away.

scineram – I also wish they would have given Gasquet a WC. The women’s draw looks more compelling to me this week.

scineram: I agree with you that Gasquet should have been given a wild card for New Haven. Do you know if that was the decision of the USTA and/or the French Tennis Federation to NOT do so in Gasquet’s case, and if yes, what was the reason?
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tenisbebe: I’m at a loss as to why 250 and 500 tourneys are considered ‘not real tennis’ and/or insignificant, considering the high level of players, save the top 4, who comprise the draws.

I saw a remark made during Legg Mason, DC, when the Montreal draw was issued: ‘great, now we’ll see some ‘real’ tennis’. OUCH, what a put down for the 250 and 500 tourneys. And, BTW, what’s ‘real tennis’? I believe one of the reasons tennis is not given much attention by sports fans all year round is due to the emphasis placed mostly on the GS and the MS tournaments. However, it’s becoming apparent nowadays that not even the MS tournaments seem to spark much interest among some fans, so what’s left interest wise, only the GS? For me, tennis is tennis, and based on the depth of the current field, we are now fortunate to see some very good matches played at the lower level tournaments, as is evident from the present draw at New Haven and that of Legg Mason. Anyway, it’s a matter of personal choice, and to each his/her own, isn’t it?

Below is a link on the massive court the WTA players used as an experiment at Yale.